Words from a Wine Glass

When I first tasted this wine, I couldn’t help but think, this is Cabernet and a serious one at that.  Don’t get me wrong, there is a seriousness about it but, the more I tasted it (and I couldn’t help but do that), it seemed more of a relaxed style.  When I say ‘relaxed’, I don’t mean ‘laid back in the chair, feet up on the desk’ relaxed, more of ‘I’ll just go about my business’ relaxed.  Well, I like the way this wine goes about its business with such ease and sense of style, and a measured level of confidence too.

This says “Hello Cabernet” the moment you swirl the glass and take in the aromas.  Gorgeous black fruits coupled with a herbal/leafy note start the show.  Abundantly flavoured on the palate where blackberries, blackcurrants and a juicy plum fleshiness fills out the mid-palate nicely. It is medium bodied, smooth and quite lush enabling it to be enjoyed now but has the fruit quality, lovely oak feels and fine yet structurally supportive tannins to sit comfortably in your cellar.

Levantine Hill Website

Region: Yarra Valley, Vic     Price: $80     Source: Sample thanks kindly to Levantine Hill

There is a certain charm to old buildings. I often wonder about the history that has soaked into their walls over time. However, it’s the ‘foundation stone’ upon which they were built, which is what really interests and fascinates me. Was it built on history, on integrity, on hard work, or a bit of all of those? Depending on what the building is currently being used for, I wonder if that same ‘foundation’ still exists in the company or institution that now occupies it? Sometimes it tends to get lost as time as go by, generations move on or ownership changes.

In 1969 Bob Roberts planted the Huntington Estate vineyard on a ‘foundation stone’ of “…making some of Australia’s best wine at affordable prices…” and “…make extraordinary wines of great flavour and interest…”  Since purchasing the property in 2006, Tim and Nicky Stevens have built on that ‘foundation stone’ by not only honouring the history of Huntington Estate and maintaining the integrity of the wines, but also hard work. I raise a glass of this Cabernet to them and their team.

It’s a lovely dark colour in the glass which, for many, would indicate a big red wine is about to bombard the senses of smell and taste.  Hold that thought. Generous aromas of dark berries with a little oak poking through and you can’t help but dive your nose back in.  Fruit purity and power are present on a delightfully medium bodied palate.  An abundance of all sorts of black fruits and berries provide the foundation with a little herbal note, a gentle oak influence and obvious but fine tannins adding to the structure as it finishes long and smooth.  Terrific!

Huntington Estate Website

Region: Mudgee, NSW     Price: $50    Source: Samples thanks kindly to Huntington Estate

I can remember as a very young kid playing the game, ‘What’s the time Mr Wolf?’ You know, the one where someone is out the front with their back to a group who utter the words, “What’s the time Mr Wolf?”  The person out the front says a time like “3 o’clock” and the group take three steps towards ‘Mr Wolf’.  This continues until ‘Mr Wolf’ says, “It’s dinner time” and chases the group with the intention of catching one of them.

It wasn’t quite like that with this wine but, it was like it was playing a game with me.  Each time I put the glass down, turn around for a few minutes and went back to it, it revealed another of its dimensions, but instead of having to chase it, it wanted me to catch it, get to know it and experience it. 

It smells so divinely of cool climate Cabernet Sauvignon.  Lots of dark berry fruits with a hint of herbs and a chocolaty note.  The palate is showing black and red fruits of the currant type and there’s a ripe red cherry flesh feel to it too that seems to add a freshness and lift.  Now, while the oak is a little forward and the tannins a little drying, they fit in nicely with the fruit and tell me it still has some time ahead of it still.  This is no ‘Mr Wolf’ and there will definitely be no running from it, just towards it.

Moorilla Website

Region: Tasmania     Price: $44     Source: Sample thanks kindly to Moorilla Estate